Tamerville “Tribute to Our Liberators” Sign

In addition to the monument in the cemetery with the names of the deceased American air crews, Tamerville has also installed a “Tribute to Our Liberators” sign.

The sign details in French and English the stories of four aircraft that went down around Tamerville and recognizes Tamerville’s liberation by 8th Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division on June 20, 1944.

The sign continues with a report on the development of the Tamerville and Valognes area as a major communications center.

The text is one of the most profound tributes to support troops including my late father Felix A. Cizewski’s unit, the 3110th Signal Service Battalion.

Once Tamerville had been liberated by the 8th Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division on June 20, 1944, the village and Chiffrevast castle (former headquarters of Germany’s 709th Infantry Division) were occupied in July 1944 by specialized units of the Allied forces.

Bringing with them high-technology equipment, these women and men of the Signal Corps made Chiffrevast castle the first Allied communications center on the continent. This allowed major Allied headquarters to communicate rapidly with each other.

The castle basements housed many telephone, teletype and radio operators as antennas, transmission stations and barracks containing sensitive equipment were erected in the surrounding fields.

This communications center was operational from August 7 until mid-September of 1944.

During this time, the Signal Corps soldiers bivouacked in nearby orchards. The 3110th Signal Service Battalion, consisting of 13 officers and 220 enlisted men, was among these specialized units to work in Tamerville.

These troops had a supporting role that was essential to the Allied victory, and we owe them our freedom as much as we owe it to those who were at the battlefront. They are honored here.

Another in an ongoing series about our trip to France for the 70th anniversary of D-Day and the Liberation of France and the memorial in Tamerville. Tamerville is among the places where my late father Felix A. Cizewski, served in Company C, 3110th Signal Service Battalion.